This was my first year participating in Inktober 2023, so I’ve written some thoughts I’ve had about the prompt, drawing process, quality of my own drawing, etc. I also filmed a timelapse for every day of Inktober which you can check out on my YouTube by clicking here.
Day 1: Dream
Fun Fact: I filmed the timelapse in Panera.
The angle I took when approaching this prompt was recreating an image I saw in my dream. However, the final work has more embellishments than my initial dream. For instance, there wasn’t an egg, frying pan, or oil. It was just the fish that has a likeness and shape of a koi fish with an egg color palette.
Day 2: Spiders
Fun Fact: I have arachnophobia.
Drawing this, despite the subject matter, was fun. I hardly ever see side profiles of spiders so that’s what I decided to draw. I think my style of drawing the spider is like the So I’m a Spider, So What? anime. (Disclaimer: I’ve only seen advertisements of this anime.) The web (because spiders and webs are like white on rice) contained things I’ve witnessed on webs in real life: flies, leaves, and morning dew.
Day 3: Path
Fun Fact: This is my most detailed drawing for Inktober 2023.
If I’m being honest this drawing was furthest from my ideal, and I don’t think that the final drawing did justice to the image I had in mind. I intend on drawing this again with better composition that has more robust linear and (possibly) atmospheric perspective.
Day 4: Dodge
Fun Fact: I developed this typographical style in college.
I hit a roadblock with dodge because I had forgotten my pencil and because drawing for action words is hard. In the end, I decided to de-realize and then reconfigure the word dodge into a logo-esque design. I threw in the dramatic camera drop to pay homage to the action of dodging something.
Day 5: Map
Fun Fact: I was a geography whiz in 5th grade.
I tried to avoid the most obvious route for drawing a map such as drawing a literal map with either a real or imagined world. Although, my drawing is certainly adjacent to that. I initially drew the globe, but because I felt that the drawing was empty I added the sun and the moon afterwards.
Day 6: Golden
Fun Fact: This is the only drawing that I used a reference for while completing the drawing.
For this drawing I thought about what to draw for a good deal longer than I did for the other drawings. My skill with shading is rudimentary at best and I wasn’t sure how to represent something that has a golden quality. That’s why I decided to draw Midas’ touch because of the Greek myth wherein he was granted the power to turn anything he touched to gold.
Day 7: Drip
Fun Fact: This was the most relaxing to draw.
I only had this idea for a drawing a drip background. Although, the second (higher) drip row was a spur of the moment decision. Without the second row, I believe this drawing would be a lot less interesting.
Day 8: Toad
Fun Fact: I don’t know the difference between a toad and a frog.
I’m pretty sure I drew a frog, but I don’t know. However, I do think this is my cutest drawing by far. If I were to make a coloring book, this drawing would have a page. The only thing that would get scrapped would be the fish.
